Green Energy Times

Headline News:

• “Renowned Conductor Allows Climate Activists To Address Crowd At Swiss Music Festival” • A famed Russian conductor allowed climate protesters who disrupted a performance at a classical music festival in Switzerland to address the crowd. Two protesters from Renovate Switzerland were pushing the Swiss government to declare a climate crisis. [CNN]

Protest (Renovate Switzerland image)

• “Solar Power Europe Predicts EU Will Reach Its Renewable Energy Goal Three Years Early” • The 2023 annual report from Solar Power Europe comes to a startling conclusion. It says the EU will reach the renewable energy goal it set for 2030 three years early. The report is 148 pages long, and this article provides a summary. [CleanTechnica]
• “Palisades Nuclear Plant To Restart In Deal With Power Co-Op” • The company that owns the Palisades nuclear plant announced that it will restart the 800-megawatt power plant in a deal with Wolverine Power Cooperative. The facility stands to become the first decommissioned nuclear plant to be fired back up in the entire United States. [MLive.com]
• “China’s Solar Boom: Capacity Set To Hit 1 TW By 2026” • The Chinese solar sector is set to break records in the coming years . When installed capacity crosses the 500 GW mark by the end of 2023, it will have taken 13 years to reach that milestone. That total, however, will be doubled to 1 TW in just three additional years, by the end of 2026. [Oil Price]
• “Gone With The Wind: Fossil Fuel Loses Ground In UK’s Energy Mix” • New analysis from Imperial College London for Drax Electric Insights has found that for the first time ever, the installed wind capacity has surpassed gas, reaching 27.9 GW in June compared to the 27.7 GW installed capacity for gas generating capacity. [Drax Group]
• “Apple Unveils Its First Carbon Neutral Products” • Apple has announced its first carbon neutral products in the all-new Apple Watch lineup, as innovations in design and clean energy have driven reductions in product emissions. This milestone marks a major step toward Apple’s 2030 goal to make all of its products carbon neutral by the end of the decade. [Apple]

For more news, please visit geoharvey – Daily News about Energy and Climate Change.

Headline News:

• “Enercon Reaches 60-GW Wind Milestone” • Enercon has announced it has reached 60 GW of onshore wind capacity installed worldwide. More than 32,000 wind turbines have been planned, produced, and commissioned in 50 countries since the company’s foundation in 1984. This capacity is about what would be in 60 conventional power plants. [reNews]

Wind farm (Enercon image)

• “Could Cleaner Air Reduce The Risk Of Suicide?” • A new frontier of potentially preventative research on suicide is rising that might, at first, seem unrelated: improving air quality. Over the past few years, various studies have identified associations between raised levels of air pollution and increased suicide risk. What should we make of this evidence? [BBC]
• “The Hottest Electric Vehicles Are In China” • There are 138 automakers in China, the No 1 auto market in the world. At least 40 of the 138 are purely electric companies, according to JD Power. In 2022, EV sales in China totaled 6.9 million units, an increase of 93.4% from 2021, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. [ABC News]
• “How Biden Is Bringing More Environmental And Climate Justice To The US” • This past year, the EPA invested $3 billion from the Inflation Reduction Act in the new Environmental and Climate Justice Grant Program to accelerate environmental justice efforts, address pollution, and support a more equitable future for communities. [CleanTechnica]
• “Lithium Deposit In Extinct Nevada Volcano Could Be Largest In The World” • A paper in the journal Science Advances reports the discovery of what may be the largest lithium deposit known to exist, inside the caldera of an extinct volcano in Nevada. This could have a major impact on America’s ability to make batteries without relying on Chinese sources. [CleanTechnica]

For more news, please visit geoharvey – Daily News about Energy and Climate Change.

Headline News:

• “COP28: A Chance To Course-Correct On The Global Clean Energy Transition” • Leaders of COP28 write that the world is not on track to meeting the 1.5°C goal of the Paris Agreement, and the global clean energy transition is dangerously off-course. But there is hope. We can still get back on track by taking urgent action now. [POLITICO.eu]

Windpower (Karsten Würth, Unsplash)

• “Coalition Of World Leaders Calls For Tripling Renewable Energy” • In an article published online, EC President Ursula von der Leyen, Kenya’s President William Ruto, and Prime Minister of Barbados Mia Mottley called for the world to set global goals to triple renewable energy capacity and double annual savings of energy use by 2030. [POLITICO.eu]
• “Amid Energy Price Spike, 86% Of New Renewable Electricity Was Cheaper Than Fossil Fuels Last Year” • Renewable power was already rapidly replacing fossil fuels as the cheapest source of electricity. Thanks to rocketing fuel prices last year, it is now the clear winner when it comes to cost-effectiveness. The transition has accelerated significantly. [Singularity Hub]
• “Lee Adds To A Growing Trend Of Intense Hurricanes Powered By Warmer Oceans” • Hurricane Lee rapidly intensified at a historic pace into a Category 5 storm Thursday night, adding to a spate of extremely intense hurricanes this year and in recent decades. Experts say the strength and rapid growth of storms are symptoms of the climate crisis. [CNN]
• “Ford Takes The Mustang Off-Road With Upcoming Mach-E Rally Car” • One look at the Ford Mustang Mach-E Rally, and you can see that it’s not the standard crossover that many other auto manufacturers are offering. This EV takes the freedom and fun of Mustang onto dirt roads, showcasing a different direction for electric vehicles. [CleanTechnica]

For more news, please visit geoharvey – Daily News about Energy and Climate Change.

Headline News:

• “Biden Administration Cancels Years-Long Attempt To Drill In Alaska National Wildlife Refuge” • The Biden administration said it will cancel seven Trump-era oil and gas leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and protect more than 13 million acres in the federal National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska, stymieing a years-long attempt to drill in the region. [CNN]

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (US FWS, public domain)

• “As Africa Climate Summit Promotes Solar, Off-Grid Power Ramps Up Below The Sahara” • African families and businesses are choosing off-grid solar in the face of an unreliable grid. The World Bank says the number of minigrids, solar systems that support a cluster of homes or businesses, has grown in from 500, 23 years ago, to 3,000 today. [ABC News]
• “Climate Change Is Hurting Six Flags, Seaworld, And Disney World” • When intense rain and flooding stranded more than 70,000 people at Burning Man in the Nevada desert, it was just the latest example of how extreme weather, made far worse by climate change, has impacted major North American attractions this summer. [CNN]
• “The World Just Experienced The Hottest Summer On Record, By A Significant Margin” • June to August was the warmest such period since records began in 1940, according to data from the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service. Also, according to the Copernicus data, August of 2023 was the warmest August since record keeping began in 1940. [CNN]
• “Environmental Groups Sue Utah Over Failure To Protect Great Salt Lake From Brink Of Collapse” • Utah is being sued by a coalition of environmental groups and conservationists for its alleged misuse of water and failing to protect the Great Salt Lake from the brink of “ecological collapse.” Scientists had warned that the lake was facing “unprecidented danger.” [CNN]

For more news, please visit geoharvey – Daily News about Energy and Climate Change.